Group Work Ethics Paper

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

With the large and growing number of divorce rates, research is now discussing the effects it has on the children of divorced parents. Now divorce does not just impact the individuals going through it, but their children as well. Not only do children have to live with one or the other parent, have shared custody, or various other living arrangements that may change, but their entire life that they knew changes. Research is

The rapid epidemic of divorce in the United States within the last 20 years has affected more than one half of the families in the United States. In the past, we have viewed divorce as a short term crisis and not as a longitudinal view of the effects divorce might bring. Divorce does affect children. However, it is not the divorce that is the problem; it is the ongoing conflict between the parents and the child’s coping mechanisms in their own stages of development. Counseling, family therapy, and also having a divorce mediation are all successful ways of coping with the family.

Divorce is comparable to an epidemic since it has been filtering through many societies at an increasingly alarming rate. According to the most current statistic, there are more than 2.1 million marriages in the United States (“Children of Divorced Parents”). Out of those, almost half end in divorce. Divorce nowadays is extremely common. In fact, in America there is one divorce every thirty-six seconds (National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends”). Each year over a million American children suffer from the divorce of their parents (Amato 24-26). Even though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in their own personal case, for the majority it causes a decrease in an individual’s life and puts many people “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover” (Amato). Over long term, the United States divorce rate has been on a rise since 1980, which means more children being affected (Macionis). These children that are affected are faced by emotions of anger, confusion and even fear. These emotions affect their academic performance, social interactions, behavior, self-esteem and other negative effects. This literature review is important in calling attention on the current research studying impacts of divorce on children. The topic of divorce is a wide-ranging topic. However, this particular literature review focuses only on the effects that divorce has on children. The data presented in this paper is collected from

For my final project in this course, I will be exploring the long term effects of divorce on adolescents. In terms of motivation and experience in researching this subject, I have hands on experience with the results divorce brings onto families. As a child of two divorces, one at age five and the other last year, I want to understand not only what truly causes divorce, but the physiological consequences the split brings upon the children involved. The decisions of my parents have weighed heavily on my life thus far and in researching and communicating the research behind my findings, I hope my audience will receive additional information on how divorce affects everyone involved, especially adolescents, to hold a better grasp on the growing epidemic and what it

Around 50 percent of all marriages in the United States today end in divorce (Cherline, 1992; Popenoe, 1996, as cited in Potter, 2010). There are several contributing factors. Infidelity, addictions, abuse, lack of intimacy, conflicts, finances, and changes in views of success, priorities and interests could all be reasons marriages fail (Payne, Olver, & Roth, n.d.). Divorce not only impacts the married couple, but also their children. Children may experience many mixed emotions when internalizing the divorce. This group proposal will evaluate the behaviors that children may display when going through a period of family breakup. In addition, I will discuss how group counseling may benefit adolescent children in coping with divorce and strategies that may help limit unwanted behaviors.

A major consequence of parental divorce on children is the negative effects on their psychosocial well-being. In his study, researcher Daniel Potter (2010) studied how divorce affects children’s psychosocial well-being and their academic achievement. Taking data from the “Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort” (ECLS-K), his study spanned from the spring of 1999 to the spring of 2004 (Potter, 2010, p. 935). Potter looked specifically at academic levels of Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 5 (Potter, 2010). Out of a total sample of 10,061 children, 870 children had parents who were divorced. Potter measured their psychosocial well-being based on reports that were taken from their

Not many individuals are aware of how many adolescents experience divorce or remarriage. Individuals do not realize how much an adolescent experience stress. It is never taken in consideration what an adolescent has to endure while trying

Divorce Intervention Groups I. Rapid Rate of Divorce A. Fifty percent of marriages end with divorce (American Psychology Association, 2016). Empirical studies show children from divorced families at a higher risk to struggle behaviorally, academically, and mentally (Connolly & Green 2009). B. Research shows these problems could transfer into adulthood without treatment (Connolly & Green 2009). Due to the high number of students experiencing divorce, the counselor manages the roll of facilitating interventions with long term results. II.

The effects of how children experience divorce mostly depends on their age, though can also depend on how the parents themselves react after their divorce and if there is no hard feelings between them. Currently, we do not know the rate of divorces because “The National Center for Health Statistics stopped publishing numbers of divorce and remarriage in 2000 because some states no longer count them” (Berns, 2013, p.83). The effects on children are drastically different based on their age at the time of the divorce. A child that is a teen will understand that the divorce is not their fault, though at the same time come to resent one parent for tearing apart the family, while a young child might feel that they are the reason for their parents'

At the first meeting with a new group I would discuss the expectations of confidentiality within the group during the counseling process. Next, I would explain the importance of confidentiality within the group, and I would introduce a policy statement on confidentiality. The fact that all members’ of the group rights to confidentiality is safeguarded would be explained too. I would ensure them that I will make all efforts to actively address violations, protect disclosures, and provide information, although I cannot guarantee confidentiality in the group. While giving the group guidelines and expectations of what to expect of and from me, there would also be guidelines given to the group regarding in-group experiences.

This chapter reviewed many different aspects of group work such as different processes and skills required to run several different groups. The groups discussed were open-ended group, groups hosted in residential settings, single-session groups, and large activity groups.

Regarding the current state of the field, the research is excessive, dense, and slightly overwhelming. However, once the scope was narrowed down to more specific and relevant topics, there is much interesting research and unique approaches that are being addressed. While there seems to be a consensus that all children will be negatively affected in some way or another by the divorce of their parents, not all scholars agree on the finer details. Several researchers have claimed that children of divorced families are likely to fail in areas regarding schoolwork, that these children have higher potentials of dropping out and that they will likely face future issues within their jobs or career. For example, in Zill’s research about the long-term effects of divorce on children, the negative outcomes are addressed in terms of achievement. It is suggested that adults who experienced divorce during their childhood are significantly lacking achievement-wise when compared to those who grew up in a two-parent household. On the other hand, different scholars have responded to these conclusions with critiques suggesting that such claims are exaggerated and inaccurate. The research of Jost, Kenneth, and Robinson was conducted in critical response to Zill’s conclusions as well other researchers that expressed similar ideas. Jost, Kenneth, and Robinson agree that divorce is not an ideal situation for

Many children go through a divorce at some point in their life. Statistics show that in a year, approximately one million children under eighteen experience their parent 's divorce; putting it into perspective, this is about forty percent of children (Matthews 1). Since 1960, the divorce rate has been doubling just about every decade until 1990, and currently has leveled off at that rate (Gallagher 1). Amy Desai researched psychologist, Judith Wallerstein, who performed a study where she interviewed children of a divorce eighteen months, five, ten, fifteen and twenty-five years after the divorce of their parents. After twenty-five years, she states, "Even 25 years after the divorce, these children continued to experience substantial expectations of failure, fear of loss, fear of change, and

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.